Man gets five years in prison for 1998 shooting of Broken Arrow girl

Updated:
Friday, November 3, 2000 12:00 AM EDT

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A Tulsa man who was granted a new trial in the shooting of a Broken Arrow girl pleaded no contest to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced Friday to five years in prison plus five years of probation.

Jason ``Casper'' Filion, 24, was accused of shooting teen-ager Brandy Thurmond in the head outside her home on May 13, 1998.

Filion was convicted in a 199 trial of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned that conviction and granted Filion a new trial, ruling that a judge erred when he did not give jurors the option of returning a verdict on the misdemeanor offense of reckless handling of a firearm.

District Attorney Tim Harris said the Thurmond family agreed to Friday's plea deal because ``they did not want to go through another trial.''

If the case had been retried, the maximum punishment available would have been a 10-year sentence for assault.

Filion has been in jail or prison since mid-May 1998. On the new sentence, he will get credit for the 2 1/2 years he has spent in custody, officials said.

After he is released from prison, Filion must perform 80 hours of community service and undergo a substance abuse evaluation.

Thurmond suffered permanent, serious injuries from the shooting. Testimony at the 1999 trial claimed that she walks with a limp, faces speech and motor-skill difficulties and suffers life-threatening seizures.

Multiple women are accusing Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment. Sixteen people spoke with CNN and said they either witnessed or were directly subjected to inappropriate comments, staring or touching by the actor.

Multiple women are accusing Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment. Sixteen people spoke with CNN and said they either witnessed or were directly subjected to inappropriate comments, staring or touching by the actor.